Nighttime confessions
by Claude Amelia Song
Summary: Not being able to keep silent any longer over her feelings and worried about the change in his character, Hermione takes the matter in her own hands and visits the Potions Master at nighttime.


**Summer Camp**

**Cabin Dumbledore**

**Task 5: **Archery

Write about getting straight to the point on matters of the heart.

Words: 1824

**Betaed by Ebenbild, thank you so much.**

**Author's note: Hermione has the age she has thanks to overuse of time turner. She gained a year and five months. Also, she is a year older than her classmates.**

At the beginning, Hermione hadn't known what to do when the Headmaster had assigned her to work with Professor Snape and help him with Potions. She had had a crush on the man since day one, he was ... magnificent. Sure, he wasn't a good teacher, but he wasn't a bad person either and nobody was perfect. She'd been afraid she would get caught, that he would find out about her affections and humiliate her.

Hermione had been relieved when her friends had thought she liked Lockart. As if. Severus had been the only one on her mind at the time and he still was.

She had been tempted to deny, but how could she when he needed her aid? And how could she deny when she'd dreamed of working closer with him? It was stupid and it was so out of character for her. She'd never let her feelings for a boy cloud her decisions, though. So she told herself she hadn't agreed because of them. She had agreed because now, after he had begun spying again, he had more work to do and couldn't keep up with all the potions needed in school. And there was the Ministry's pink lady to consider.

Severus needed someone to help him and she was the most suited one. He didn't trust other Order members and they didn't trust him. Not that he had trusted her in the beginning, but Hermione could say he _did _trust her now.

And that brought her to her current problem. After one year of working closely with a man she'd had a crush on for over five years, she was in love. She also had no idea if he even liked her, or just learnt to tolerate her. But for sure, she knew she was in love. It was immoral, considering he was her teacher and she knew he'd never do anything. However, she was older than her classmates, it wouldn't be illegal. Hermione had also researched in the library if there were any rules and it said that as long as the teacher didn't try to modify her grades and she was of consent age, they could be together. And she way past the consent age. Thanks to the time-turner, she was ... off age!

The past year, despite Dolores Umbridge, had been good. But now Severus—as she'd taken to call him in her head—had started to be as cold as in the beginning and she couldn't understand why. It happened over the summer and she was pretty sure the Headmaster was responsible for it.

Hermione had tried to ignore it and to work as usual, but she couldn't. He mother had told her that sometimes you had to take the matter into your own hands and go straight to the point. And she was going to do just that. She was going to barge into his rooms, while he was preparing to sleep and confess. What happened next would be up to him. Hermione hoped that if he was at a more vulnerable state and surprised, he wouldn't completely trash her put. She had to tell him and it wasn't something he would ever expect her to do, so he would be totally surprised. In a good way, she hoped. Though she knew her hope was probably in vain. The best thing would be for her to forget it, but how could she? Beating around the bush wasn't her style; she wasn't one to back down because it was hard.

She had stayed in the common room reading a book until it was fifteen minutes before curfew. She then left in a hurry, saying she had to check on something in the library and left. No one questioned it since, she often did that and always came back in time.

Hermione basically ran towards the dungeons, and waited for the right moment in the Potions classroom. Filch and his cat never came in here, Severus had forbidden them to enter his territory and even if this year he wasn't teaching Potions any longer, he was still the Potions Master of the school. Slughorn was just teaching and he didn't live in the dungeons.

After a solid two hours of a fast beating heart and for her reading and rereading the Potions book, she ran with it. It was time.

With a courage she didn't know she had, she exited the classroom, very cautious of not going face to face with the caretaker (in case he hadn't gone yet to sleep) and went to the portrait guarding Severus quarters. The man inside the painting was away as always at this time, but Severus himself had taught her how to enter in this situation, in case she needed to assist him at this time last year. So she entered. Hermione was really glad that he still had her keyed to his wards.

Slowly, she stepped around the living room towards the bedroom. That was the only room she hadn't seen from his quarters. Without knocking, she entered the room.

Severus Snape was sitting in white and blue pyjamas, with stripes, preparing to sleep. When she entered, his spy reflexes kicked in and he jumped right up, pointing his wand at her.

He froze when he looked at her, disbelief in his eyes.

"Hermione?" He shook his head. "Miss Granger? What are you doing here?" Severus was so surprised that he forgot he was supposed to be angry.

Hermione could only stare at him. He looked so cute. She understood now how her cousins could stare at boys all day.

But from his face she could see Severus didn't understand what she was doing.

"Miss Granger?" he asked again.

Hermione shook her head and smiled a little.

"Hello, professor! I've come to talk to you."

"And it couldn't wait until morning?" a little of his usual snark came back into his speech.

"No, it couldn't wait. _I_ couldn't wait. I'm sorry to bother you, but I really couldn't wait."

His eyes widened and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"It's nothing bad though, I think."

"Say it girl! Talk already!" he was growing more irritated by the second.

She swallowed and then, looking him straight in the eyes, she went straight to the point.

"I'm in love with you," she said as loud as she could, eyes never wavering. If she would have watched from afar she would have laughed at the way his face suddenly changed showing disbelief and incredulity, surprise and dare she say hope? Probably she was too tired. Hermione could see him open his mouth and close it again. She was going to go down in history as the one who left Professor Snape speechless.

Seeing as he wasn't going to interrupt her she continued.

"In the beginning, it was just a crush. You were so ...intense and captivating and...I tried so hard to get your approval. It didn't work. I didn't give up, but I didn't particularly try to get your attention. My parents said I was nuts when I asked for advice. Because you were behaving so horrible, how could I like you that way? Then in the third year you saved my life. And Harry's and Ron's. My feelings grew. And I wasn't a child any longer. I was almost sixteen. And I was aware that I was feeling more than a crush. That's the reason I was wary of working with you. But now, I know I'm in love. The past year has been...so amazing and so complicated. Thanks to the time turner, I'm almost eighteen and Mum told me I should go straight to the point with you, otherwise it will eat me up. She's right. I need you to know that I love you and that I am in your corner. I know something happened over the summer. You and I were getting closer, friends and now you distanced yourself. Why? And I have to warn you, if you don't tell me I'm gonna attack and possible hurt the Headmaster to get the information."

With that she went silent, waiting for him to speak.

Severus Snape, for once, didn't know what to say. Miss Granger had grown on him in the past year, and even before he had admired her, but he always suppressed any possible feelings. He had never been attracted to a student before and he hadn't known what to do. He hadn't wanted to work with her for the exact same reason she had presented. It was all too good to be true. He was probably in some twisted dream, a nightmare a week of teaching had given him.

He looked at her and Hermione could see the anguish on his face.

Without hesitating, she went and hugged him tight, and soon enough his arms went around her waist, resting on her back.

"You're not a dream," he murmured.

Hermione laughed, tears in her eyes.

"No, I'm not."

He broke the hug anyway and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"You're very foolish for falling in love with me."

"I know, but I think everyone has to be foolish sometimes."

He chuckled.

"Then it's good that I'm extremely foolish too," he said and smiled at her.

"Do you mean?" _Did she dare to hope?_

"Yes, I mean…," he whispered. "I was so ashamed of myself. It never happened to me, even when I was a barely-out-of-school teacher, and then something happened last year. I admired you before, but now… it is way more. But there are so many things about me you don't know. Things I've done, things I have to do."

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"Then why don't I tell you what I know and you fill in the gaps? I'm more observant than you probably think I am."

Severus shook his head.

"Of course you are. But it's late, you should go back to sleep and come here in the morning. We can talk then."

Hermione nodded. She hesitated for a second then asked.

"Could I stay here? Just to sleep,"she added for good measure. She wasn't ready for that, but she was aware of how it could be interpreted.

She could see his eyes widen, but he shook his head.

"Not tonight. Go to sleep, Hermione," he said one more time before leaning in and pressing his lips softly to hers.

It wasn't longer than a second, but it made Hermione certain that they really were on the same page and in the morning he wouldn't turn her away.

She hugged him one more time, feeling him slip something in her hand, then she left.

When she looked, in her hands she was holding a hall pass. Morning couldn't come soon enough for her. Her mother had been right. Sometimes you have to take the matter into your own hands and go straight to the point when the heart was concerned.


End file.
